Leo flashed a gentle smile and asked, "Do you know anything about potential identification?"
The two girls exchanged looks, their eyes reflecting a certain spark—So I am useful after all, even a Blue-rank class member is consulting me.
"I know! It is divided into five ranks: White, Blue, Yellow, Green, and Unique," Hana pressed the answer button first, but unfortunately, she failed the follow-up. "And then... and then... Diana, you tell him."
Diana took over: "My Lord, it works like this. Due to the blessing that protects the world, one gains skill points upon leveling up. After assigning a skill point, there is an infusion of knowledge regarding that skill.
However, learning a skill is not 100% successful. The first time you attempt to learn a specific skill, it is possible to fail. If you fail, the skill point disappears, but you gain a partial insight into that skill. Attempting to learn it again will increase your success rate.
The level of potential is determined by how many skills one has mastered before reaching Level 30.
Mastering 1 to 6 skills results in White potential; 7 to 12 is Blue; 13 to 18 is Yellow; 19 to 24 is Green; and 25 to 30 is Unique."
Leo's eyes lit up—A straight-A student! Excellent, he liked academic types the most. Even though he felt a sharp, gull-like gaze staring at his back, Leo maintained a straight face and continued his inquiry: "Thank you for explaining so much. What color is your potential?"
Diana slumped back into a state of self-deprecation, while the carefree Hana replied, "My Lord, we are all Rogues of the White Warrior rank. The vast majority of Rogues are White, um—Di—um—a—"
Seeing the self-exposing Hana about to say more, Diana acted swiftly, covering the mouth of Hana, who was half a head shorter than her. A "healing" smile appeared on Diana's face: "My Lord, we still have our watch duties, so we cannot continue chatting with you."
"Haha, goodbye Diana and Hana. Thank you." Time to go. It seemed everyone in his squad was a high-potential talent; he hadn't heard of anyone failing to learn a skill yet.
Behind him came Hana's spirited scream and that persistent, gull-like gaze. A real man never looks back at the explosion.
Leo rubbed his bleary eyes. Indeed, the best way to relax was to have a few drinks and then sleep. Feeling like his condition had recovered, it was time to head out and complete his trade with Akara. Walking out of the tent, he saw his sister meditating and resting again. After giving her a heads-up, he walked toward Akara's tent.
He soon arrived and produced a portion of the Light-tier medicines, casually exchanging them for various charms. He no longer needed these himself—he would slowly collect high-tier charms later—so these were for the two women to boost their strength. Since his backpack was large enough, anything unrelated to combat could be stored with him.
"Warrior, thank you. With this batch of medicine, I believe we can soon develop the formula for Light Potions," Akara said as she put the supplies away with satisfaction. Then, she spoke slowly, "Have you been cultivating inside the cave recently?"
Leo was startled. She knows even that?
"Do not be surprised. Although we hold our ground here, we frequently send scouts out to gather intelligence on the surroundings. The aura you carry is different from the aura of the Blood Moor."
Akara paused. "Warrior, the camp previously sent a squad of Rogues to explore the Den of Evil."
Leo understood; the cave quest had arrived. Important figures had their own considerations when speaking, and he had to seize this chance: "Lady Akara, if you have any instructions, please speak."
Seeing Leo was so quick on the uptake, Akara continued: "The squad exploring the cave has lost contact. I hope that the next time you go to the cave to cultivate, you will keep an eye out. If possible, please bring back..."
Halfway through, Akara went silent for a moment, then continued: "Bring back their badges. I won't let you make this trip for nothing. Upon completion, I will infuse each member of your squad with one skill point."
Human lives were at stake, especially those of a group of young girls: "Lady Akara, how many were they, and how long have they been missing?"
"Seven in total. It has been five days since contact was lost. Please move quickly, Warrior. This morning, a class member of Green Warrior rank has already accepted this mission."
Leo's heart sank. It had been five days; they were likely already dead. It was already afternoon, and many preparations hadn't been made. Heading out today was unrealistic.
The person who took the quest must be a powerhouse; Green rank required learning at least 19 skills, meaning they had to be at least Level 20 to have enough points, assuming every attempt was successful. He was already half a day late; the first main quest might be snatched by someone else.
He walked slowly back to the tent, planning to discuss the plan with Majesty and Gerdie, who had moved in. He couldn't just give up; after all, this was the first main quest of the game.
Returning to the tent, Majesty was meditating as usual, but Gerdie was nowhere to be found.
Helpless, he asked Majesty: "Is Gerdie out? Why don't I see her?"
"Gerdie should be resting in her tent; I haven't seen her come out at all," Majesty also found it a bit strange.
Leo called her name loudly outside Gerdie's tent, but there was no response. Growing worried, the two pulled aside the curtain and walked in. Gerdie was sleeping on the bed with the face of a "drunk cat," constantly muttering in her sleep.
Leo scanned the surroundings and found the tent littered with empty wineskins. These bags looked a bit familiar—counting them, there were exactly ten, no more, no less. It turned out Gerdie had drunk all of his alcohol.
"Sister Gerdie, wake up! My brother needs you for something," Majesty said, gently shaking her.
"Mmm... Leo needs me? Gotta get up quick... Ugh, can't let him see me like this. Eh? Why are the legs of these pants so short? Strange, I can't find the pant legs..." Bleary-eyed and drunk, Gerdie held a jacket, flipping the sleeves back and forth looking for pant legs.
Leo was very familiar with Gerdie's state and knew she wouldn't sober up instantly. He opened his skill menu and assigned points to Prayer and Cleansing.
Prayer: Level 1 skill. When active, slowly restores life to you and your teammates. Radius: 10.6 yards, Healing: +2, Mana cost: 1. No prerequisites.
Cleansing: Level 12 skill. When active, reduces the duration of poison or curses for you and your teammates. Restores life based on the healing amount of Prayer every 2 seconds. Radius: 10.6 yards, duration reduced to 39%. Prerequisite: Prayer.
As he activated Cleansing, a circle of outward-spreading light orbs appeared beneath Leo's feet. The orbs were a beautiful mix of pale green and white, exactly eight in number.
Gerdie soon cleared her head. Seeing the two of them standing by the bed staring at her, she felt quite embarrassed. She explained in a low voice: "I only intended to have one sip, but I didn't expect the Captain's wine to be so delicious. So I had another sip... and then I fell asleep while drinking. I was just sleeping, really, I wasn't drunk."
Looking at Leo's facepalming expression, Majesty realized she had made a tactical error. How could she let a drunkard guard her drunkard brother's wine? Imagining the future if the two of them really lived together and had children—a whole family living in a drunken stupor—the vision was too "beautiful" to behold.
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